2021-2022 Departmental plan: Supporting information on the program inventory

Supporting information on the Program Inventory is available on CSC's website.

• Subsequent to the tabling in Parliament and online publication of CSC’s 2021–22 Departmental Plan, it was determined that the Program Inventory that is hyperlinked to the document of record contained an error. Correction has been made to both the PDF and HTML versions of the Program Inventory posted online to ensure complete and transparent information.

CSC provides for the safety, security and humane care of inmates, including day-to-day needs of inmates such as food, clothing, accommodation, mental health services, and physical health care. It also includes security measures within institutions such as drug interdiction, and appropriate control practices to prevent incidents.

The Institutional Management and Support Program contributes to Care and Custody through the day-to-day management of operational activities and institutional services for offenders in custody.

Key activities include administering, operating and maintaining institutions; establishing operational processes and procedures; managing allocated financial and human resources; directing and overseeing the delivery of integrated correctional operations; monitoring the effectiveness of institutional security activities; considering threats, risks, vulnerabilities and physical security requirements and controls; managing the intelligence function for institutions; ensuring coordination across the criminal justice system; providing a safe environment for staff and inmates; and making decisions and recommendations related to offenders within delegated authorities.

The Preventive Security, Intelligence and Supervision program contributes to Care and Custody through the provision of intelligence information to inform and guide operational decisions in a tactical and/or strategic manner throughout all levels of the organization. Through the collection, analysis and sharing of intelligence information, this program directly contributes to security operations and interventions. This is achieved through supporting the case management process and identifying and managing illegal activities and threats to security for offenders and staff in institutions and in the community, in conjunction and cooperation with external partner agencies.

Key activities include gathering and sharing information and intelligence to prevent security incidents, eradicate illegal activity and support the case management process; continually assessing threats and risks to identify and mitigate internal and external threats to the safety of individuals (inmates, staff and public) institutions and community operational sites; collaborating, liaising and sharing information with justice partners both domestically and internationally; identifying and managing security threat groups; and preventing, intercepting, and eliminating illegal or threatening activities.

The Drug Enforcement Program contributes to Care and Custody through the development, implementation, and coordination of policies and activities designed to prevent the introduction of illicit drugs and/or reduce their presence within CSC facilities. This is done to ensure a safe drug-free institutional environment for inmates and to reduce the threats to institutional security posed by trafficking activities, and by the violence associated with drug trafficking. CSC understands that in order to meet this objective, an integrated approach including prevention, treatment, and harm reduction is needed to reduce both the supply and demand for illicit drugs.

Key activities include the collection and analysis of intelligence related to drug use and trafficking and the subsequent targeting and dismantling of drug trafficking efforts. Detecting, searching and deterring drug use and/or trafficking through security and intelligence measures such as urinalysis, drug detector teams, drug detection and identification tools, dynamic security and the imposition of administrative measures.

The Clinical Services and Public Health Program contributes to the humane custody of inmates by providing essential health care in accordance with professionally accepted standards.

Key activities across the continuum of care include disease prevention and control, health promotion, screening, assessment and treatment, hospital care, referral to medical specialists, pharmacy services and release planning.

The Mental Health Services Program contributes to the humane custody of inmates by providing essential mental health care and reasonable access to non-essential mental health care in accordance with professionally accepted standards. These services are delivered from intake to release, while considering the needs of vulnerable populations. The continuum of care is reflected through CSC’s comprehensive Mental Health Strategy.

Key activities include mental health screening at intake, primary mental health care, intermediate mental health care, psychiatric in-patient care, as well as release preparation and transitional care for release to the community.

The Food Services Program contributes to Care and Custody by providing nutritionally balanced meals to offenders in institutions. Meal preparation is based on appropriate nutrition standards for Canadians such as Canada’s Food Guide. The program meets the needs of offenders requiring specific diets for their faith or for therapeutic reasons.

Key activities include setting the overall policy direction for the delivery of food services; monitoring food services activities to ensure adherence to standards; ensuring all activities related to the ordering, storage, preparation and service of food and disposal of waste meet food safety standards, and planning for the delivery of food service activities within the established budget.

The Accommodation Services Program contributes to Care and Custody through maintenance and repair of institutional buildings/structures, vehicles, and lands as well as related basic services for offenders. This is done so that institutions can meet their operational requirements including the provision of safe and clean living and working conditions for staff and for offenders in custody.

Key activities include the provision of basic necessities to offenders, technical support, housekeeping, clothing and cell furnishings, laundry services, engineering services, environmental services, waste management, electrical, water and sewage, heating/co-generation of power, plumbing, fire protection, motor vehicle maintenance and operations, millwright, general labour, general maintenance, and landscaping.

CSC conducts assessment activities and program interventions to support federal offenders’ rehabilitation and facilitate their reintegration into the community as law-abiding citizens. CSC also engages Canadian citizens as partners in its correctional mandate, and provides services to victims of crime.

The Offender Case Management program contributes to Correctional Interventions through a dynamic process that includes interventions to assess, guide, and support offenders throughout their sentences.

Key activities and outputs include Sentence Management, intake assessment, development of correctional plans, penitentiary placement, progress monitoring of correctional plans, transfers, institutional supervision, re-release planning and case preparation for release, as well as community supervision to ensure the safe and successful management of offender risk and needs.

The Community Engagement Program contributes to Correctional Interventions through citizen engagement by developing and maintaining relationships with participants, partners, stakeholders and Canadian communities and provides voluntary client-centered services focused on restorative justice and victim services that further contribute to the federal correctional process in areas including meaningful accountability, meeting victims needs, and the reintegration of offenders.

Key activities include raising public awareness to improve confidence in federal corrections; providing / receiving information to / from victims; providing opportunities for and delivering victim-offender mediation services to address serious crime nationally, developing and maintaining partnership agreements; creating collaborative working relationships with diverse segments of the community, non-governmental agencies and other government departments; providing leadership to the volunteer program, engaging in restorative justice initiatives; and supporting ongoing activities that promote the successful reintegration of offenders into the community.

The Chaplaincy Program contributes to Correctional Interventions by providing opportunities for offenders to examine their behaviours and decisions and discover new ways of living in the context of their faith practice. This can help offenders find greater wholeness and accept responsibility for their actions, which in turn contributes to their safe reintegration into Canadian communities.

The right of offenders to practice their religion is guaranteed by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and other legislation. Chaplaincy ensures that offenders of all traditions are offered opportunities to practice their faith.

Key activities include the development, implementation, delivery, and management of religious and spiritual activities, which includes volunteer and other community resources.

The Elder Services Program contributes to Correctional Interventions through the counselling, teachings and ceremonial services provided to First Nations, Métis and Inuit men and women offenders who are following a traditional healing path. Elder services also include the provision of spiritual support and advice to the institutional Head regarding ceremonies and offenders' access to ceremonial objects or traditional medicines within the institution.

Key activities include counselling, providing spiritual and cultural teachings to First Nations, Métis and Inuit offenders; delivering ceremonial services and establishing and maintaining partnerships to help offenders reintegrate and live in the community as law-abiding citizens.

Correctional Programs contribute to Correctional Interventions by addressing offenders’ risk factors related to offending at intensity levels that correspond to their identified risk and needs. This is done through correctional program models that identify and prepare offenders to address risk factors related to offending as well as support offenders in maintaining skills learned through their participation in correctional programming.

Key Activities include identifying and addressing offenders’ risk factors by reducing problematic behaviour, teaching offenders skills that will assist them to change pro-criminal attitudes and beliefs, manage themselves, set goals, solve problems, develop healthy interpersonal relationships and coping skills, as well as support offenders to maintain and apply the skills that they learned in order to cope with daily challenges.

The Offender Education Program contributes to Correctional Interventions through interventions designed to provide offenders with basic literacy, academic, and personal development skills thereby improving their capacity to effectively participate in other correctional interventions. It also offers them an opportunity to improve their education qualifications, thereby increasing their likelihood of obtaining community employment and successfully reintegrating into the community.

Key activities include the implementation, delivery and management of education programs.

As part of correctional interventions utilized to contribute to offender rehabilitation, the CORCAN Employment and Employability Program provides offenders with skills training that develops technical and soft skills that are transferable to community employment. This is achieved through on-the-job training, apprenticeship hours and vocational certifications that improve their chances of sustainable employment as part of a safe and successful release into the community.

Key activities include teaching a combination of industry standard technical skills (mastery of tools and processes associated with a specific occupational roles), transferable skills (with opportunities for offenders to apply these skills in various industry jobs), and soft skills (improve employability and job readiness). These skills are foundational for accessing employment opportunities. Other activities include supporting offenders through employment readiness, transitional employment and employment search support services throughout their sentence and providing complementary support to other CSC employment and employability initiatives.

The program is designed to allow offenders to acquire skills and develop the pro-social attitudes and behaviours that are valued by employers, and so is a key part of CSC’s commitment to actively support offenders to become law-abiding citizens.

The Social Program contributes to Correctional Interventions by providing a combination of structured and unstructured interventions and activities designed to prepare offenders for reintegration into the community as law-abiding citizens.

The program encourages offenders to adopt pro-social lifestyles and contributes to a meaningful use of time by providing basic life skills. It provides offenders with opportunities to learn and practice social skills, necessary for personal and social development, and increases offenders’ awareness of their strengths and weaknesses, which assists them to overcome possible roadblocks to reintegration.

Key activities include community integration program, social integration program for women, recreation and leisure activities, hobby crafts, self-help, life skills training, social and cultural activities, and community contact opportunities.

CSC supervises offenders in the community and provides structure and services to support their safe and successful reintegration into the community. Services include accommodation options, community health services, and the establishment of community partnerships. CSC manages offenders on parole, statutory release, and long-term supervision orders.

The Community Management and Security Program contributes to Community Supervision by monitoring and managing offenders in the community, and by gathering, analyzing, and sharing intelligence.

Key activities and outputs include community staff safety strategies as well as a number of initiatives and activities that serve to support the supervision of offenders, including urinalysis, electronic monitoring and partnerships of offenders.

The Community-Based Residential Facilities (CBRF) Program contributes to Community Supervision by providing accommodation to offenders in CBRFs operated by non-governmental agencies under contract with CSC. CBRFs promote the successful reintegration of offenders into the community by providing accommodations in various types of CBRF options, such as Community Residential Facilities (structured facilities commonly known as “halfway houses”), Treatment Centres, Hostels, Private Home Placements, and Supervised/Satellite Apartments.

Key activities include providing accommodation, supervision, intervention, support, and monitoring for those offenders under community supervision who are required to reside in community-based residential facilities on release.

The Community Correctional Centres (CCC) Program contributes to Community Supervision by providing a 24-hour structured living environment, monitoring and interventions for the purpose of the safe reintegration of offenders into the community. CCCs operate under Correctional Service Canada policies and procedures. The CCCs accommodate offenders under federal jurisdiction who have been released to the community on unescorted temporary absences, day parole, full parole with residency, work releases, statutory release with residency, as well as those subject to Long-Term Supervision Orders with residency.

The Community Health Services Program contributes to Community Supervision by providing essential health services for offenders in the community where there are gaps in provincial health service delivery. In addition, CSC facilitates access to community services to support rehabilitation and successful reintegration.

Key activities include providing discharge planning services to ensure continuity of support, mental health services to address mental health needs (e.g., crisis intervention and counselling), and links to community agencies.